A Boston LGBT organization will flaunt their pride this weekend in the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade.

A Boston LGBT organization will flaunt its pride this weekend in the South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade.

Boston Pride announced Friday that they will be marching Sunday, March 15, in the 114-year-old St. Patrick's Day parade. Pride's application to march was accepted by the South Boston Allied War Veteran's Council, organizers of the parade.

"We are looking forward to celebrating Boston's diversity, our veterans and the Irish heritage of so many members of our community by marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade," Sylvain Bruni, president of Boston Pride, said in a statement. "While we recognize there is still much work to be done to protect the rights of the LGBT community both here and around the world, and to ensure everyone's rights to express themselves and to celebrate, we are aware of how symbolically important it is for members of our community to be proudly out among their friends and neighbors as a part of this historic parade."

Parade organizers were critiqued last year for not allowing LGBT organizations to march. The issue led to The Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams beer, to drop its sponsorship of the parade.

While organizers were critiqued last year, this has been a longstanding issue in the city. 

Two decades ago, the United States Supreme Court the South Boston Allied War Veteran's Council had a constitutional right to exclude LGBT organizations and individuals from participating in the parade. 

"We are eager to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the same respectful manner we ask participants to observe at the Pride Parade every year. As importantly, we are looking forward to showing our pride in an established Boston tradition and in our community by marching on Sunday, and we invite all LGBT and ally individuals to march with us," said Bruni. 

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh commented on the announcement, said he is thrilled about the decision. 

"I'm thrilled that the St. Patrick's Day parade is inclusive this year, and the addition of Boston Pride to the list of participants reflects the values of the South Boston neighborhood," said Walsh in a statement. "With this year's parade, Boston is putting years of controversy behind us."

The HAPCO building has been a long-blighted neighborhood eyesore, according to Mayor Domenic Sarno.

SPRINGFIELD -- A hired contractor will begin demolition of the long-blighted, former HAPCO building in the South End on Monday, just days after a gas leak there triggered the evacuation of nearby businesses and apartments.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and city housing and disaster recovery officials will gather at the site on Monday at 2:15 p.m., outside the tax-foreclosed property at 727-729 Main St., for the formal commencement of the demolition.

Advance asbestos removal work was occurring on Tuesday when workers accidentally ruptured a gas line, officials said.

Associated Building Wreckers of Springfield is the contractor for the demolition and asbestos removal project at a cost of $40,699.

"This demolition of this building has been a priority of the residents of South End and is both a part of the City's blight reduction strategy and our commitment to ensuring a full recovery for all neighborhoods from the June 1, 2011 tornado," Sarno said in announcing Monday's event.

The property is city-owned and tax -foreclosed and has been an eyesore for several years, officials said.

The tornado of June 1, 2011, contributed to the blighted conditions, and were then made worse when a car crashed into the building, officials said.

The city had attempted to sell the property, but none of the proposals submitted were deemed feasible.

Cardno/ATC of West Springfield is providing environmental oversight of the project.

The 105-page report has led to the resignation of Ferguson's police chief, city manager and a municipal court judge.

SPRINGFIELD — A Department of Justice report that reveals racist and unjust treatment of African Americans in Ferguson, Missouri, has local officials looking at ways to prevent similar behavior in Springfield.

The 105-page report was conducted after the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer on Aug. 9, 2014. The report was released last week and proves that Ferguson Police Department officers used black residents as revenue for the city. The report also highlights racist emails sent by several police and court supervisors. Several of the e-mails cited on Page 72 of the report included:

• November 2008: An e-mail stating "President Obama would not be president for very long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."
• March 2010: An e-mail mocked African Americans through a story involving child support. One line from the e-mail read: "I be so glad that dis be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all dose payments!"
• April 2011: An e-mail depicted Obama as a chimpanzee.
• May 2011: An e-mail said: "An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, 'Crimestoppers.'"

Just this week, Ferguson City Manager John Shaw, Police Chief Thomas Jackson and Municipal Court Judge Ronald Brockmeyer all resigned. On Thursday morning, two Ferguson police officers were hit by gunfire at a protest outside the police department.

Bishop Talbert Swan II, pastor of the Spring of Hope Church Of God In Christ and president of the Greater Springfield chapter of the NAACP, said the report does not reveal anything new for the African American community.

September 24, 2011 - Springfield - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Rev. Talbert W. Swan II .Michael S. Gordon 

"The report reveals an atmosphere in the city that the majority of the African American community knew existed, but many outside the community were in denial of," Swan said.

"This report could probably be used for most major urban centers in America. You can change the name Ferguson to Springfield and it would probably be just as applicable, and that's the thing that concerns me," he said. "The exact ingredients that existed in Ferguson that created the powder keg that blew up exist right here in Springfield."

The report reveals that residents were being used as a way to create revenue for the city through jaywalking tickets, disturbance of the peace and other citations that come with fines. In a four-year period, police issued approximately 90,000 citations. On Page 9 of the report, it states that city officials consistently stress that "maximizing revenue is the priority of the FPD." Most of the people getting fined are African American.

The report discusses the use of excessive force, violations of constitutional rights, the lack of a diverse police force and more.

"It is insidious to have a system where you harass your citizens as a way of raising revenue and then particularly target African American citizens," Swan said. "Often we've heard in the past people talk about quotas when it came to affirmative action, but many are in denial of quotas for law enforcement. They have been raising revenue this way for a long time."

During the annual dinner of the Urban League of Springfield on Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center, the national president of the organization, Marc Morial, said he hopes people will look at the report's recommendations in an effort to move forward and inspire change.

"If there is a silver lining in the tragic death of Michael Brown, it is that it exposed not only this police department, but systems of policing around the country that are brutal and engage in misconduct ... there is no doubt that Ferguson is not isolated," he said.

"People say 'OK, now what?' and that is an important part of this conversation. Those of us who are in the civil rights and economic opportunity community want to make sure there is a conversation about the fix and that there is a determined push to fix this," Morial said.

Beginning on Page 90 of the report, the DOJ recommends everything from community policing to rebuilding trust with the African American residents in the city. They suggest training officers on "crime-prevention, officer safety and anti-discrimination advantages of anti-policing."

The report goes on to say, "The FPD must fundamentally change the way it conducts stops and searches, issues citations and summonses, and makes arrests."

Springfield City Councilor Bud Williams agreed that being proactive is what is most important for communities including Springfield.

December 27, 2013 - Springfield - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Springfield City Councilor Bud L. Williams in Springfield City Hall Friday.Michael S. Gordon 

"I have a lot of faith and confidence in Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri that he would not tolerate that behavior here," he said. "With that being said, we have to stay on top of our p's and q's. We have to be vigilant because police / community relationships all over the country are at an all-time low. There are great police officers and great community people doing great things, but in every department there are bad apples, and until we weed out all of the bad apples, we have to be proactive."

Swan said he hopes the report will bring awareness to the racism that is still very present in the country today.

"I believe the report shows that this is not a figment of our imagination, that it is very real and something we experience on a day to day basis and that people should be concerned with," he said. "When the conversation comes up it should not be dismissed by using terms like 'playing the race card.' I hope people will listen, learn, understand and do something about it."

Swan said Springfield needs to make proactive changes to avoid a situation like the one in Ferguson.

"While I believe there has been some improvement, there is a denial that the problem exists," he said.

Swan said he wrote a letter to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno in the wake of the Ferguson incident last year requesting that a commission be formed to look at what elements created the racial tension in Ferguson and to come up with proactive ways to prevent that here.

On Aug. 21, 2014 Sarno responded to Swan's letter citing the work of the mayor's Violence Prevention Task Force, the C3 Policing method being used to build trust between police and residents in the North End and other initiatives.

"Communication and engagement between the community and law enforcement is vital to build a foundation of mutual trust and respect," the mayor wrote, and he continues to stand by the statement to this day.

"I still feel his response was basically to dismiss my request and talk about all the things he is doing to curb gang violence, which missed the mark completely. My concern is what elements exist that create racial tension between law enforcement and community and municipal government and the community, and they are not willing to have that conversation," he said. "My hope is that it does not take a blowup like Ferguson before we really sit down and have a candid conversation about how to deal with racial tension in our city."

Ferguson Police Department Report

A driver led Western Massachusetts police on a high-speed car chase through multiple communities on Friday morning that ended in the driver crashing into a snowbank in Holyoke.

An update was posted at 1:29 p.m. on Friday: Eric Daniels, of Springfield, arrested following police chase that started in Longmeadow, ended in Holyoke

HOLYOKE -- A driver led Western Massachusetts police on a high-speed car chase through multiple communities on Friday morning that ended in the driver crashing into a snowbank in Holyoke.

Longmeadow police told 22News that at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning, they received multiple emergency phone calls reporting a woman unsafely exiting a moving vehicle. Some reported she had been pushed out of the car, others said that she jumped on Converse Street in Longmeadow.

When town police arrived on scene, they said the woman was back in the vehicle so the responding officers signaled for the driver to pull over.

Police told 22News that the driver of the Cadillac Escalade, later identified as 33-year-old Eric Daniels, refused to pull over to the side of the road and continued driving. The SUV traveled from Londmeadow north onto Interstate 91, getting off in Holyoke. While driving through the city, he crashed into a snowbank on Tokeneke Road in Holyoke, near Maurice A. Donahue Elementary Schools.

Upon crashing the vehicle, 22News reports the man fled the scene on foot. Within three hours later, local and state police were able to find Daniels with the help of a Massachusetts State Police K9 unit.

Longmeadow police say the woman suffered minor injuries.

U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni, sworn in last June, reduced a criminal defendant to tears during a probation revocation hearing.

SPRINGFIELD — Repeat offenders, beware U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.

The relatively new judge and former Hampden District Attorney reduced a longtime criminal to tears during a probation revocation hearing on Thursday. The judge also rejected a mutual sentencing recommendation by a prosecutor and defense lawyer.

Daniel Ruiz, 26, appeared before the court to answer for an arrest in August by Springfield police, who caught him trying to ditch 50 bags of heroin. Ruiz was on federal probation after just having been released from prison after a 2008 conviction for cocaine distribution.

His defense lawyer, Shawn P. Allyn, said Ruiz' good intentions after being released deteriorated when he was fired from a warehouse job. Ruiz began dealing drugs out of his mother's house on Calhoun Street, unbeknownst to her. He had previously betrayed his mother when he was out on bail in the 2008 case, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Grant. She pledged her house as collateral and he defaulted on his bail agreement. She was apparently able to keep her home and was in court on Thursday.

Ruiz admitted to the allegations. Lawyers pitched a 30-month prison sentence to run concurrent with the state court sentence he expects to receive when he pleads guilty in Hampden Superior Court on Monday, Allyn said. When it was time for Ruiz to speak, he offered a mumbled apology to his probation officer, his mother and sister, and to Mastroianni.

That's where it all went wrong for the defendant:

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Mastroianni demanded.

(uncomfortable pause)

"Turn around and look your mother in the eye!" the judge ordered.

(longer, more uncomfortable pause; tears from Ruiz)

"Apologize to her!" he continued.

(apology amid sobs)

"I can't believe after what you put your family through, they are still sitting here in support of you. You committed this offense six months after being released from a very long prison sentence. What in the world were you thinking, six months after getting released from prison?"

(another long pause before Ruiz realizes it was not a rhetorical question)

"It was stupid, your honor. Foolishness," Ruiz replied, staring at his feet.

"Do you have any idea how many young people overdose every day because of heroin? What would you think if someday you knew someone was dealing heroin to one of your children?" Mastroianni added.

"I'd feel like s***, your honor," Ruiz said.

The judge capped the rant by referring to Ruiz' long criminal record as "ridiculous," telling lawyers in the case that he was rejecting their joint proposal until after the defendant's sentencing in state court.

Ruiz' new sentencing date on the federal probation violation was rescheduled for March 26.

Mastroianni's sentencing style is emerging as decidedly different than that of his predecessor, U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor.

Ponsor remains on the bench in senior, or semi-retired, status. He historically has used a lighter touch with criminal defendants – most often trending toward the low end of advisory sentencing guidelines and rooting for them to tap into their true potential.

It is not the first time in his short tenure Mastroianni has rejected a joint sentencing recommendation and exceeded even what the U.S. Attorney's Office had suggested.

In October, perennial sex offender David Venetucci, 46, formerly of Springfield appeared before Mastroianni for sentencing on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Venetucci was already serving a seven-year state sentence for attempting to rape a woman in her home in 2010, and slashing her 14-year-old son in the neck when the boy tried to help her. The prosecution and defense were recommending Ventetucci served an additional year on the federal charge. Mastroianni gave him six.

Before being elected as Hampden District Attorney in 2010, Mastroianni was a criminal defense lawyer for 15 years.

Emmanuel Toffee Bile will have his case tried first, followed by Justin A. King, Adam T. Liccardi and Caleb Womack.

NORTHAMPTON — After almost 2 1/2 years of delays, the trials of four Pittsfield men accused of gang raping a University of Massachusetts student will begin next Friday.

Emmanuel Toffee Bile will be the first defendant to stand trial, followed by Justin A. King, Adam T. Liccardi and Caleb Womack. The cases had been joined into a single trial, but Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder separated them last week.

All four are charged with three counts of aggravated rape for the alleged assault of the student in her room at Pierpont dormitory in October, 2012.

Prosecutors say the four men, who were not UMass students, traveled to the school against the woman's wishes, drank with her in her room and took turns raping her as she phased in and out of consciousness. The defendants maintain the sex was consensual, except for Womack, who maintains he never had sex with her.

The case has been delayed because the two sides were waiting for the results of DNA analysis and because of the issue off joining the cases, which Judge Bertha D. Josephson agreed to do last year.

On Friday, Kinder denied a motion by David Pixley, Bile's lawyer, to continue the case again.

Both Pixley and prosecutor Jennifer Suhl argued a variety of motions on questions for jurors, the introduction of certain evidence, and the process of the trial.

Kinder allowed a motion not to refer to the female UMass student as the "victim" during the trial. He denied Pixley's motion to sequester the witnesses individually from each other. During voir dire, in which potential jurors will be questioned individually, Kinder will allow them to be asked if they believe a woman can consent to having sex with multiple partners at the same time.

Kinder said he will give each side 14 peremptory challenges in which they can ask that a juror be dismissed without explanation. That number will be quadrupled over the course of the four trials.

Holding four trials rather than one promises to be arduous, since the complaining witness and other witnesses will have to testify four times.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on March 17. Opening statements are set for March 20.

Lawyers told Kinder they expect the trial to last until March 30.

In a 13-11 vote on Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed a bill allowing two casinos sharing a total of 5,000 video slot machines and 240 table games to generate $120 million in initial licensing fees and a cut from gaming revenues thereafter.

As the Northeast U.S. gambling market becomes increasingly saturated, lawmakers in New Hampshire are again looking to get in on the action.

In a 13-11 vote this week, the Senate narrowly passed a bill allowing two casinos sharing a total of 5,000 video slot machines and 240 table games to generate $120 million in initial licensing fees and a cut from gaming revenues thereafter.

The bill passed by the Senate would establish a New Hampshire Gaming Commission to license up to two casinos for a ten-year period. The state government's cut would be 35 percent of gross slot machine revenue and 18 percent of gross table game revenue.

Last year, the House killed a similar bill, as the issue has become a perennial one in New Hampshire.

Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan has previously voiced support for a single casino to bring new revenue into the state, but it is unclear whether she will support the measure as approved by the Senate this week.

Throughout New England, which in 2010 had a total population of approximately 14.4 million people, New Hampshire and Vermont are the only remaining states without legalized tribal or commercial casino gambling.

Massachusetts has already licensed MGM Resorts International to build an $800 million casino in Springfield; Wynn Resorts to build a $1.6 billion casino outside Boston in Everett; and Penn National Gaming to operate a $225 million slots parlor at the Plainridge Harness race track in Plainville. Additionally, the state is aiming to authorize a third commercial casino in the southeastern part of the commonwealth.

Connecticut, which currently has two tribal casinos, is eying opening up to three smaller casinos to fend off competition from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where an expansion of current casino amenities is planned for the same reason.

For a look at the bill, which will now be sent to the New Hampshire House, click here.

A Hampden Superior Court jury found Jahmal Brangan guilty of armed robbery while masked.

Buffy Spencer | bspencer@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD — A Hampden Superior Court jury on Friday found Jahmal Brangan, 42, guilty of armed robbery while masked.

The jury deliberated Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday, but came back with a verdict after deliberating for about 15 minutes Friday.

Brangan was charged with armed robbery while masked of the United Bank branch office at 1077 St. James Ave. on Jan. 17, 2014.

The bank was robbed shortly after 11:30 a.m., and the teller gave the suspect an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. The suspect wrote in a note to the teller that he had a weapon that would go "threw" most material.

Defense lawyer Jared Olanoff requested a mistrial. Judge Mark D. Mason set April 2 for a hearing on that matter.

Both sides were given time to submit their arguments in writing. Nothing was said in open court about why Olanoff is requesting a mistrial; all discussions were at sidebar with the judge. Olanoff said when he files his written submission the reason for the mistrial request will be public.

At the April 2 hearing the sentencing date will be set.

Springfield police officer Juan Estrada testified that a fingerprint found on the bottom left corner of the note used in the robbery matched Brangan's fingerprint.

In her closing argument Wednesday morning, Assistant District Attorney Karen J. Bell told jurors not to consider each piece of testimony in a vacuum but to take the evidence as a whole. She said just because witnesses – tellers and customers – were not able to give a complete description of characteristics - such as height of the robber – jurors must remember the stress of the moment.

Bell said Estrada's testimony showed Brangan's fingerprint had been put on the note shortly before the robbery.

"Jahmal Brangan held it in his hand," Bell said.

Olanoff, in his closing argument, said, "If you just listen to the testimony of people who saw him, you will see Jahmal Brangan was not the robber." He said one woman said the robber had a bump on his nose, and Brangan does not.

A police officer spoke with nine people, and the description of the suspect came out as 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

"Jahmal Brangan is 5 feet, 10 inches," Olanoff said.

As for Brangan's fingerprint, Olanoff said, "There's no way to tell how that print got on that note and when it got on that note."

Few details are available at this time, but a Facebook post at around 12:45 p.m. said investigators were on their way to the scene.

Click here for an update on this story.

Few details are available at this time, but a Facebook post at around 12:45 p.m. said investigators were on their way to the scene.

The crash comes the day after a 32-year-old man was killed in a crash on Abbey Memorial Drive.

This is a developing story. It will be updated when more information becomes available.

The trees populating the 200-plus acres land off Kennedy and Chesterfield road are dying off quickly, partially due to an invasive insect called the red pine scale. Each tree takes about half an hour to take down. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON -- In the early 1920s, the city planted thousands of red pines in Leeds in an effort to protect the nearby watershed.

Almost a century later, the trees populating the city's water supply land off Kennedy and Chesterfield roads are dying off rapidly, partially due to an invasive insect called the red pine scale. The pest first spread in southern New England, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania in the 1940s, and then emerged in New Hampshire and Maine in 2012.

The city Department of Public Works began removing the ailing trees - which had already been declining in health before the aggressive red scale came around - last week. Cotton Tree Services of Northampton has been contracted to do the painstaking work, said Nicole Sanford, senior environmental specialist for the DPW.

For the next two weeks, the city will be removing upwards of 2,000 pines from 21 acres of the city's water supply land. But that's just the beginning, Sanford said. Cotton will take down more than 11,000 trees in all on 200-plus acres of land over the course of two years.

An operation of this nature doesn't usually take this long, explained Michael Mauri, a licensed forester hired by the city for the job. But because the forest is transitioning from red pines to sugar maples, the pines are being cut down and lifted one-by-one over the tree tops by crane to preserve the latter.

"We're really bending over backwards to protect these trees," Mauri said Thursday.

Each tree takes about half an hour to take down. That's mostly because they're so big: The most enormous tower 100 feet above the forest floor and weigh up to 10,000 pounds.

Removing the trees won't cost the city anything, Sanford said; Northampton will actually profit by about $140,000, as the trunks will be sold for utility poles and the tree tops are being chipped for mulch.

Environmentalists have raised questions over how the tree removal operation might affect the local ecosystem and watershed. As a response, the DPW and Mauri led a nature walk through the Leeds property in November, during which they explained the relationship between the forest and water supply protection as well as the fate of the red pines.The city is hosting another walk on Monday, March 16, from 4-5:30 p.m.

Mauri noted that Northampton has nearly 3,500 acres of watershed land, and the parcels being logged are a relatively small portion of that. And the maples, a native species, will protect the watershed just as the pines did.

"The forest is dynamic, constantly changing and growing. It's not fixed," Sanford said. "It's still going to be a forest once the red pines are gone."

Nathaniel Lami of Westfield was sentenced Friday to seven to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty earlier in the week to multiple counts of child rape and related charges in a case involving a then-14-year-old girl.

The Hampden County Hall of Justice.THE REPUBLICAN FILE 

SPRINGFIELD — Nathaniel Lami of Westfield was sentenced Friday to seven to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty earlier in the week to multiple counts of child rape and related charges in a case involving a then-14-year-old girl.

In front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey, Lami pleaded guilty to seven counts of child rape, four counts of posing a child in the nude, two counts of indecent assault and battery on person 14 or older and a count each of reckless endangerment of a child and possessing child pornography.

Carey had set sentencing for Friday, and quickly delivered his sentence when Lami was brought into the courtroom. The state prison sentence is followed by 10 years probation.

Assistant District Attorney Jane Mulqueen asked for a 10- to 12-year state prison sentence. Defense lawyer Jennifer E. Cox asked for a three- to five-year prison sentence. Both agreed a prison term should be followed by 10 years probation.

Lami's address in court records is 50 Southampton Road in Westfield, but he has been in jail for 676 days awaiting trial or resolution of his case.

The case of Leonne Vieu, a co-defendant, is pending. Court records list her address also as 50 Southampton Road in Westfield. She is not held awaiting trial.

In court on Monday during Lami's guilty plea, Mulqueen read a statement from the victim detailing what had been done to her by Lami, 32, when she was 14.

The girl's mother brought her on May 2, 2013 to the Westfield Police Department, where the girl recounted what happened when Lami, a family friend, was supposed to be supervising her during her April school break.

She told a police officer she thought she could trust Lami and felt close to him. The girl said Lami used a scalpel while they were in his apartment to make cuts on her back. She said it hurt, and then Lami licked the blood and it hurt more.

She said Lami had her put on various clothes, such as a corset, and he took pictures, and then he took pictures of her naked from the waist up.

Lami brought Vieu, 24, into the apartment and had Vieu pick out clothes for the girl to wear. Lami told the two females to "get in position," and they ended up kissing while topless. Lami made cuts in Vieu's back with a different scalpel, the girl said, and then Lami cut her (the victim) again.

The victim said another time during the week she let Lami cuddle with her. She said he began "making out" with her. She said, "I was shaking." She said he wrapped her hair in his hand. Then he performed several types of rape on her, the girl said, while he called her "his sexy little slut."

Lami and Vieu wrote a paper and made her sign it, the girl said. It was "rules and regulations," and she had to write that she wouldn't tell anyone or "I would be in trouble."

The next weekend, Lami picked her up and they picked up Vieu.

She said "they got me high on weed" and Lami raped her with Vieu participating.

The girl said things came to light when a friend of her mother's found a letter she had written in her room. She said she was glad because she "didn't know how to stop it."

A Springfield man considered a Level 3 sex offender was arrested in Holyoke Friday morning following a police chase that spanned across several city lines.

HOLYOKE -- A Springfield man considered a Level 3 sex offender was arrested in Holyoke Friday morning following a police chase that spanned across several city lines.

Just after 7:30 a.m. Friday morning, Longmeadow police received several emergency phone calls reporting seeing a woman unsafely exiting a black Cadillac Escalade on Converse Street. Lt. Gary Fontaine, of the Longmeadow Police Department, said callers reported either the woman jumped or was pushed out of the SUV while it was in motion.

A LPD officer responded to the scene and found an Escalade in the area. The officer signaled for the SUV to pull to the side of the road, which the driver declined to do.

Instead, the car traveled west on Converse Street in Longmeadow, turning right onto Route 5, continuing onto Interstate 91 northbound. The driver, later identified as 33-year-old Eric Daniels, exited I-91N in the south end of Springfield. Daniels hit a snag when he hit a Main Street building. While Buckeye Brothers News Tobacco & Candy Co., at 974 Main St. was left with a hole in their brick building, LPD say Daniels continued driving and got back on I-91N. He drove several miles until turning right at exit 15 for the Holyoke Mall.

The chase continued in cars as he drove on Whiting Farms Road in Holyoke until he crashed into a snowbank on Tokeneke Road, near Maurice A. Donahue Elementary Schools.

Springfield resident Eric Daniels. Courtesy of Longmeadow PD 

Daniels then fled the scene on foot, Longmeadow police say. Within two hours, Daniels was found by local and state police with the help of a Massachusetts State Police K9 unit.

The Springfield man was arrested on multiple motor vehicle charges including driving with a suspended license, refusing to stop for a police officer and a marked lanes violation.

Daniels has a criminal record in Hampden County and for his conviction is considered a Level 3 sex offender. Daniels was convicted on one count of rape and abuse of a child 15 years ago. As a Level 3 offender, he is considered by the sex offender registry board to be at moderate or high risk to reoffend. 

Longmeadow police said Friday the woman suffered only minor injuries as a result of unsafely exiting the car in Longmeadow and the crash in Holyoke.

Police say she is being uncooperative with the investigation and will not tell law enforcement what her relationship with the man is, or if she even knows the driver. Police say they're trying to determine if she was possibly taken against her will.

Daniels is scheduled to be arraigned today in Springfield District Court.

One person had to be extricated by firefighters, according to police.

CHICOPEE - Three people were taken to a hospital after a serious car accident on Friday afternoon.

Photos posted on Facebook by police show two vehicles with extensive front end damage and deployed air bags in the area of Granby Road at Cobb Avenue.

One person had to be extricated by firefighters, according to police.

Officer Michael Wilk said every accident victim was conscious and alert.

Drivers are urged to avoid the area.

The crash comes the day after a 32-year-old man was killed in a crash on Abbey Memorial Drive.

This is a developing story. It will be updated when more information becomes available.

At the the 2015 Spring Bulb Show at Smith College's Lyman Conservatory, the design was inspired by the renowned gardens at Giverney, France, of the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON — At the the 2015 Spring Bulb Show at Smith College's Lyman Conservatory, the entrance to the greenhouses is crowded with a line at the only door into the exhibit. A sign asks for a $5 donation, and all respond in kind.

The line of patrons is moving slowly as one after another shuffle into the first greenhouse with anticipation. As you cross the threshold, the fragrance hits you, overpowering at first, but then your senses adjust and the aroma becomes almost delicious.

Looking around there are people with their noses up and eyes closed just inhaling the pureness of the air, a sure sign of spring.

Now the other senses take over. Wall to wall colors, candy for the eyes, nectar for the soul. Every color in the rainbow and probably more.

The design for this year's show was inspired by the renowned gardens at Giverney, France, of the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Patrons point cameras, cellphones, anything they have to capture this amazing sea of colors.

There are nothing but smiles from the people who have waited for this display through a dreary winter. It is a treat to be awakened by this menagerie of colors and no one is disappointed. To complete the effect, large background panels of Monet paintings complement the waves of color and fragrance that must have inspired the master painter.

The 2015 Spring Bulb Show at the Lyman Conservatory runs March 7 through 22, daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Extended hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until 8 p.m. Members only hours are 9 to 10 a.m. daily.

Make the time — it's something one should experience.

SOUTH DEERFEILD - The 18th annual All-Star Games were held Friday, March 13 at Frontier Regional School. Basketball players, both girls and boys, from Hampshire and Franklin counties competed against each other on All-Star teams at the event. The games are sponsored by the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials Board #28. The Board #28 also handed out awards and...

SOUTH DEERFEILD - The 18th annual All-Star Games were held Friday, March 13 at Frontier Regional School.

Basketball players, both girls and boys, from Hampshire and Franklin counties competed against each other on All-Star teams at the event. The games are sponsored by the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials Board #28.

The Board #28 also handed out awards and MVP honors after each game.

Intel engineer Joshua Freier, 38, of Portland told police he had forgotten his sleeping daughter, Jillian, was still in his Nissan Leaf when he went to work Oct. 16.

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- An Oregon father won't face criminal charges in the death of his 6-month-old daughter, whom he left alone in a hot car while working.

Prosecutors announced their decision Friday not to press charges, calling the death a "tragic and unintentional accident," The Oregonian reported.

An autopsy determined the child probably didn't die from the heat but possibly instead from her position in her car seat, according to Washington County Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Barton.

Intel engineer Joshua Freier, 38, of Portland told police he had forgotten his sleeping daughter, Jillian, was still in his Nissan Leaf when he went to work Oct. 16, according to court documents. He drove past the daycare center after a doctor's appointment, according to KOIN-TV.

He said he worked all day at Intel in Hillsboro without remembering he left the girl in the backseat. Temperatures that day were in the 70s, but police determined that the inside of the car could have reached more than 100 degrees in less than two hours.

An autopsy was inconclusive, but Dr. Clifford Nelson of the state Medical Examiner's Office said it was possible that her ability to breathe was impeded by her upright position in her car seat.

The Oregonian reports:

 
Prosecutors had considered bringing charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, first-degree criminal mistreatment and second-degree child neglect charges, a court document shows.

Subbaswamy urged anyone who witnesses or experiences an "act of bias" to report it to the Dean of Students Office at 413-545-2684 or UMass police at 413-545-2121.

AMHERST — Remarks posted on the door of a union office for graduate employees and other academic workers at UMass Amherst were condemned by the university's leader on Friday.

The remarks – "negro sniffer" and "super queer" – were written on a sign outside the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) office at some point last weekend, according to UMass officials, who vowed to aggressively investigate the incident for possible criminal and administrative action.

In a statement issued March 13, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy said:

I have just learned that this past weekend our GEO office was the target of a hateful act of racist vandalism that also targeted our LGBTQAI community. Such expressions of hate and intolerance are antithetical to the values of our campus and will not be tolerated.

We condemn language intended to marginalize or make any member of our community unsafe, and we will aggressively investigate this matter for criminal and administrative reviews.

"LGBTQAI" stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, asexual and intersexual.

"As a community, it is imperative we work together to reaffirm our values of inclusion and respect for all," Subbaswamy said. "We must acknowledge the power of language and use it to advance social justice, inclusion and access. ... We must all work together to ensure a university community defined by inclusion, respect and compassion."

Subbaswamy urged anyone who witnesses or experiences an "act of bias" to report it to UMass police at 413-545-2121 or the Dean of Students Office at 413-545-2684. The campus police anonymous tip line is 413-577-8477.

Meanwhile, GEO, the union group that was targeted, said the remarks were "part of a larger pattern of racist violence," citing several incidents from last fall involving "hateful" messages scrawled on dormitory doors of minority residents.

Below is a copy of the organization's reaction to this latest incident.

We call on the administration to do the following:

1. Heed the call of the undergraduate anti-racist activists in increasing need-based scholarships. Given the undeniable link between race and class in the United States, we must make sure that UMass is accessible to the communities of color in Massachusetts. The UMass undergraduate population is overwhelmingly white, with very few domestic students of color. The working-class students at the university often face severe financial stress, which depresses their ability to be active in campus life and make necessary contributions to the culture of our university.

2. Increase funding and organizational support for diversity organizations and education, including CMASS, the Stonewall Center, Social Justice Education, African-American studies and other Ethnic Studies departments, and other courses which address racism and other forms of oppression.

3. Give GEO a seat at the table. Although we represent approximately 2,500 working graduate students at UMass, we are often excluded from committees and initiatives to address ongoing racism on campus.

4. Respect GEO's bargaining concerns. GEO has learned of extensive problems at the university which disparately impact working-class graduate students, queer graduate students, and graduate students of color. We have tried to address these in many ways, including during our contract negotiations. Of particular concern, we must fix our healthcare system, recognizing that disparate health outcomes are robustly correlated to working-class communities and communities of color.

a report of shots fried drew police to 527 Bay Street, only to find no shots had been fired in what police termed a domestic dispute.

SPRINGFIELD— Eight police cruisers responded to a 3:15 a.m. report of five shots being fired in a Bay Street home, and even as police prepared to assault the home, a female inside whispered to police that she had been shot.

But once the door was breached into 527 Bay St., officers found no gunshot victims, and that no shots had been fired. The apartment sits at the intersection of Bay and Edgewood streets.

Springfield Police Capt. Robert Strzempek said the female renter and her apparent boyfriend had had a fight Saturday morning, but no firearms were discharged. She called police reporting the shots fired which drew an immediate and overwhelming response.

The alleged boyfriend, Gerald Eddington was taken into custody at the scene. Strzempek said he will be charged with domestic assault.

Strzempek said a firearm was seized at the scene, but it had not been fired. Police are checking to see if Eddington has the proper licensing for the firearm.

One female was transported from the scene by ambulance with unknown injuries.

Four people were arrested in Enfield Friday, and a quantity of drugs and cash were seized.

Dwight B. Shepard | dshepard@repub.com 

The Hartford Courant reported that Miguel Carrucini,32, Jacob Van Epp, 30, Joanna Miller, 24, and Eddie Arce, 25, all of Enfield, were taken into custody and charged with drug offenses.

All four are expected to be arraigned on charges of possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, possession of narcotics within 1.500 feet of a school and tampering with evidence.

A Hartford man was ordered held on $1M bail after he was accused of shooting another man.

Robert Rizzuto | rrizzuto@repub.com 

Hartford Police told the Hartford Courant that Ronald Coleman was charged with shooting Wilson Velez outside an Albany Street restaurant Wednesday. The two argued after Velez accused Coleman of breaking into his home.

Police said that Velez and people he ate with were leaving the Aqui Me Quedo II restaurant when Velez confronted Coleman. Velez allegedly punched Coleman once, then Coleman drew a handgun and fired several shots into Velez.

One witness told police that while Velez lay on the ground, Coleman walked over and pointed the gun at the victim's head and pulled the trigger. The gun was apparently out of ammunition, because it failed to fire.

Velez was taken to St. Francis Hospital where he underwent surgery for gunshot wounds to the back and chest.

Coleman was arraigned in Superior Court Friday and pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf to charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.